After weeks (months?) of letting my health take a backseat, I went to a new-to-me doctor recently for a physical. I left with a pretty long list of marching orders that reminded me why I've been too busy to take better care of myself!
For starters, she told me to walk 15 minutes/day. It's been a good goal to stretch for, but some "old" running injuries (plantar fasciitis and a sore ankle) have flared up again. *sigh* She gave me a new blood glucose monitor, but the pharmacy has had difficulty getting me the correct test strips since running out of the samples that came in the monitor's box. She also wants me to buy a blood pressure monitor for home, but I've procrastinated after looking at the long list of possibilities on Amazon alone. (How do you know which one is best?! I think I'll look at the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for suggestions.)
The doctor also wants me to look into a diet program like Weight Watchers. I've done Weight Watchers before with some success, but always regaining later. My issue with WW now is that I don't have time for the meetings, which cost money (which I'm using to pay for grad school and otherwise trying to save!) to attend. Some would argue that the "group therapy" approach to weight loss is helpful (it often is!) and that paying for something adds an extra element of motivation to the effort. I've decided to go a different route though, returning to SparkPeople.com. The website offers lots of information, teams (groups with similar interests), and a point system for clicking on different articles and such AND for fitness minutes. You earn virtual trophies for moving up the point ladder. The website also offers food, exercise, and weight tracking.
I've also made an appointment for my annual mammogram, always not-fun but oh, so important.
I return to the doctor in 2-3 weeks for a follow-up on her marching orders. How will I do? Stay tuned!
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